Man found dead in car near home

Bartlett father of 3 was targeted to be killed, police say

A Bartlett man described as a quiet family man and good-hearted neighbor was found shot to death near his home Thursday in what police are calling a targeted murder.

It is the first homicide in the quiet northwest suburb since 2002.

James McNally, 44, suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead in a silver BMW sedan found by police at about 1:45 p.m. when they responded to a report of a car crash at Devon Avenue and Pond View, three blocks from McNally's home in an upscale subdivision, said Bartlett Police Sgt. Michael McGuigan.

McNally was targeted by his killer or killers, McGuigan said, but he declined to elaborate.

Authorities had no suspects in custody late Thursday but were trying to determine whether a 1990 red van with a white-or cream-color stripe reportedly seen leaving the scene is linked to the shooting.

Bartlett detectives and members of the multi-agency Major Case Assistance Team have not located anyone who witnessed the shooting, McGuigan said. Police said they recovered several shell casings from the scene but declined to disclose from what type of weapon.

McNally, who was married and had three young children, has no history of contact with local police, McGuigan said.

Neighbors at The Ponds of Old Bartlett Estate subdivision described McNally as a stay-at-home dad who often helped his neighbors.

"We saw him cutting his grass" Thursday morning, said David Jackson, who lives across the street from the split-level home where McNally had lived for three years. "He helped me clean out the gutters. We are shocked more than anything."

"It's a very family-oriented, quiet neighborhood," said Johnna Ortega, who also lives in the 4-year-old subdivision.

Her son, Jonathan, 11, attends Bartlett Elementary School, 111 E. North Ave., which was put on lockdown Thursday afternoon as a precaution while police investigated the scene. Students were released by 3:30 p.m.

"We didn't know what was happening" during the lockdown, Jonathan said.

Police cordoned off a quarter-mile area and set up small orange evidence markers on the street about 100 feet from the vehicle in which McNally's body was found.

Neighbors said police told them someone was chasing McNally's car just before it crashed through a fence at a construction site.

One resident said she heard four or five loud noises, but thought it was the sound of construction workers using a nail gun.

"It sounded like pop, pop, pop," said Debbie Ackerley, who lives about 1 1/2 blocks from the scene. "It shocked me. I've been here two years and there hasn't been anything like this."

Joe Schwerdt, who lives kitty-corner from McNally, described him as a quiet neighbor who picked up his kids from school every day. He said McNally sometimes came over and walked Schwerdt's dogs.

Neighbors Mario Dilorenzo and his wife, Sofia, said McNally was a former construction worker who lived in Europe for a year before moving to this Bartlett neighborhood. A woman who identified herself as the wife of McNally's brother, Patrick McNally, said, "Jimmy was a fantastic guy. Everybody loved him. He'd give you the shirt off his back."

Her brother-in-law also loved boating, water-skiing and snowboarding, she said.

The shooting was the first slaying in Bartlett since the abduction and murder of 14-year-old Nassim Davoodi in 2002, McGuigan said. Two men were convicted in her death.